UN applauds Indian movement to eradicate 'manual scavenging'

Geneva, 31 January 2013 - The UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday
welcomed the strong movement that has been developing over
the past few months in India to eradicate the practice known
as ‘manual scavenging’ which, because of the stigma
attached to it, has traditionally been carried out by Dalit
women in a clear manifestation of discrimination based on
caste and gender.

The focus on manual scavenging –
essentially the manual removal of human excreta from dry
latrines and sewers – has recently been significantly
heightened in India by a National March for the Eradication
of Manual Scavenging (also known as “Maila Mukti
Yatra”). The March, which in addition to advocating the
eradication of manual scavenging has called for the
comprehensive rehabilitation of those who have been
conducting it, took place over a period of 63 days, starting
on 30 November 2012 and crossed a total of 200 districts in
18 states. It will be formally concluded on Thursday in New
Delhi.

“I congratulate the strenuous efforts and
commitment of the organizers, and of all the participants --
especially the thousands of liberated manual scavenger women
-- who marched across the country in support of the many
others who are still being forced to carry out this dreadful
practice,” the High Commissioner said.

“An estimated
90 percent of manual scavengers are Dalit women who face
multiple inequalities and discrimination based on their
caste and gender, and who are often exposed to violence and
exploitation,” she added.

“Because of the nature of
the work, manual scavenging has contributed to a
self-perpetuating cycle of stigma and untouchability,”
Pillay said. “Manual scavenging is not a career chosen
voluntarily by workers, but is instead a deeply unhealthy,
unsavoury and undignified job forced upon these people
because of the stigma attached to their caste. The nature of
the work itself then reinforces that stigma.”

The High
Commissioner met two years ago in Geneva some of those
campaigning against manual scavenging “I was deeply moved
when they presented me with a brick they had broken off a
dry latrine,” she said. “I keep it by my office to this
day as a reminder of their struggle.”

“I am encouraged
to hear that the march has been supported by a wide
cross-section of society, who have come together to energize
the growing movement to abolish this degrading form of work,
which should have no place in 21st century India,” Pillay
said.

In September 2012, a new bill on The Prohibition of
Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation was
submitted to the Indian Parliament by the Minister of Social
Justice and Empowerment. The bill builds on the strong
legislative framework already in place prohibiting
untouchability and bonded labour, and adds a comprehensive
definition of manual scavenging.

“The new bill provides
a solid framework for the prohibition of manual
scavenging,” Pillay said. “India already has strong
legal prohibitions on caste discrimination, so the key to
the new law will be effective accountability and
enforcement. It is also crucial that adequate resources are
provided to enable the comprehensive rehabilitation of
liberated manual scavengers. This is the only way these
grossly exploited people will be able to successfully
reintegrate into a healthier and much more dignified work
environment, and finally have a real opportunity to improve
the quality of their own lives and those of their children
and subsequent generations.”

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